Twins of Fate
by Sargent Snarky
Summary: Will may have been the last of the Old Ones to be born, but not the last to come into his power.This story is about the final one of Light and the final one of Dark...Twins inseparable by time,distance or even the magic of all the world. discontinued
1. Prologue

** Twins of Fate**

Disclaimer: The Dark is Rising Sequence and all characters contained therein are Susan Cooper's. I own only copies of the lovely books and, although I wish I'd written a masterpiece such as this sequence, I must say I haven't. Mrs. Cooper did and I commend her for it. The only things of mine here are the plot, Leon, Lireal and assorted other made up characters. And the word Confuzzlement. That's mine. Muahahahaha...

_Summary: Will may have been the last of the Old Ones to be born, but not the last to come into his power. This story is about the final one of Light and the final one of Dark… Twins inseparable by time, distance or even the force of all the world and all the powers…_

_

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Prologue

_The first day of the year, midnight…_

Despite the loud crashing of thunder, the two newborn babes remained silent in the arms of the midwife. Their silence and lack of protest at the assaulting sounds and the chill of the room unnerved her, but their eyes made her tremble with fear and wonder. The male child possessed eyes of deepest black that seemed almost to suck in the light, while the female possessed eyes of shining silver that glimmered and shinned brightly, though the shack in which they sat was rather dim. The midwife glanced down at the twins, now contentedly sleeping, then looked towards the mother, just as strange, just as mysterious as the babies. The woman would not even reveal her own name much less that of the father.

"Let me hold them," breathed she, her weary eyes pleading. "I am dying and I would like to know my children before I pass on."

Hesitating only a moment, the midwife gingerly placed each child in the arms of the woman, aiding her in supporting the young things as she was too weak to hold them alone. The mother gazed into the eyes of her two children as they abruptly awoke, sensing a different set of arms about them. Still, they did not cry out, but returned their parent's stare.

"Are you going to name them?" questioned the midwife anxiously for the mother seemed soon to expire, though the children were healthy as could be.

"Yes," murmured the woman, looking first at the boy, then the girl. "Leon shall be his name and Lireal shall be hers. Please… Please find one to care for them…"

A sudden spasm of pain crossed the mother's features, then they relaxed into a peaceful mask. Only then did the children cry, but it was not a scream, nor a sobbing, but a soft wail of mourning. Though the children frightened her, the midwife picked them up once more and stood. In the arms of the living once more, the twins ceased their cry and slept.

The midwife poked her head into the only other room in the small hut and called softly to her husband. He had been sitting upon the only chair and now rose, turning to his wife.

"She's nearly dead, isn't she?" he asked, though the question was rhetorical. "The names of the children?"

"Leon and Lireal," was the reply. "The mother gave not her name, nor the name of the father. However, she requested that we find one to care for them."

"Tonight, we shall watch over them, but tomorrow," muttered the man. "Tomorrow, we will beseech the Callans. Their babe just died and they might be willing to adopt these in the child's stead. But what will they think of the eyes, I wonder?"

The midwife just shook her head. "Let us go home. We can send someone to bury the lady tomorrow for it is too late this night."

Little did they know there would be no body to bury. In fact, not a trace of the woman was to be found. Well, the next morning they did find a scrap of white fabric and the feather of a rook outside nigh to the tracks of a great horse, but how would the simple townsfolk know them to be signs of the White Rider?

* * *

Two figures watched from a distance, invisible to all mortal eyes. One, a tall man with deep eyes, bushy eyebrows, a shock of wiry white hair and a rather hawk's beak of a nose, sighed sadly and murmured aloud, "The children of no time, no parents, no home. What shall become of them? Are they to balance the scales or tip them? If to tip them, then which way?" 

The other figure, an old, fragile woman of small stature, leaning upon a stick sighed as well and commented, "Twins, they are and so their bond shall be great. How will that play into this? Even I do not know, nor do you, Merriman, nor do any of us, even the High Magic for they deny the High Magic and yet are a part of it, but only for so long as they are together. The Dark will not influence them any more than the Light and in the end it will be their choice whether they each join their own circle or remain together, separate from all. Either way, they shall never truly be free of the bond to each other or to their respective powers."

The man nodded, then paused a moment as if he heard a distant sound. "The Black Rider is coming," he said, his voice devoid of emotion. "To join the White Rider, I suppose."

"He is, but we may not interfere even should they take the children. The High Magic won't allow us, nor will they allow Leon and Lireal to be taken outside of time again, though that is where they were born."

"Born? But this village is a part of the world within time," said another figure beside them. This one was a young man, a boy really. He had a stocky build, a mess of brown hair and inquisitive eyes.

"It is, Will, but it was taken out of time during the birth of the children that an ancient prophecy might be fulfilled. You know the one. It begins, _When the last of the Circle stands alone, the Darkness finally cast back, the twins without time shall arise in power and the gateway of doom shall be opened once more_," replied Merriman.

"I see. Those two are the twins, then?"

"Indeed," replied the old woman. "And now we must leave. To the Dark remains their part. We shall know not when or where the children shall be taken until they come into their power for it is the Dark's choice where they live, as it was our choice as to where they were born."

"Much choice we had," murmured Merriman with a surprisingly bitter note.

The boy blinked up in surprise, but had no chance to question the reason, because the woman put a hand upon Merriman's shoulder and murmured, "That doesn't matter now. Come."

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Authoress' Notes! 

So, this is the revised and not terribly different prologue (look! I spelled it right this time around). I did change a few things, details really, but they're kind of important. I promise I'll get the revised versions of the other two chapters posted soon. Oh! I have a scene partially written concerning the parents of Leon and Lireal. It would under the rating of at least PG-13 because it takes place right after they're.. em.. concieved, (The twins, I mean.) and, well, the two refer to what they've just done and... yea. So that's not really keeping with the PG rating I gave this fiction. Besides, I'm not sure where to put it... If you (the readers) would like me to either email it to you (yes, it reveals who the father is.. obviously, and the reasoning behind the, eheh.. interesting pairing) or post as an extra in one of my chapters, tell me in your reviews. Or email me. Thanks.


	2. Storm Clouds

** Twins of Fate**

Disclaimer: The Dark is Rising Sequence and all characters contained therein are Susan Cooper's. I own only copies of the lovely books and, although I wish I'd written a masterpiece such as this sequence, I must say I haven't. Mrs. Cooper did and I commend her for it. The only things of mine here are the plot, Leon, Lireal and assorted other made up characters. And the word Confuzzlement.

Summary: Will may have been the last of the Old Ones to be born, but not the last to come into his power. This story is about the final one of Light and the final one of Dark… Twins inseparable by time, distance or even the force of all the world and all the powers…

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**Chapter 1**

_Storm clouds_

It was a gray dawn, giving way to a dark day. Storm clouds, swollen and threatening obscured the sun and the sky. However, it was now evening, the sun having set unnoticed, and the rain had not yet begun to fall and thunder could only be heard distantly, the flashes barely visible on the horizon. Nevertheless, the impending onslaught of the weather was felt by all, most especially a boy and a girl standing and watching.

The two ignored the calls for them to come inside and go to bed, simply standing in the backyard of the small house, staring into the sky. The two were obviously twins, so alike were they in stature and in features, save the eyes. They both had snow white hair and pale skin, their frames were on the small and scrawny side and their features were delicate and small. The eyes, however, were large and strange, of solid color, possessing neither pupil nor iris. The boy had eyes of deepest black that seemed devoid of light, almost sucking it into their mysterious depths. The girl had eyes of silver, shining with a light from within and reflecting any outward light in greater strength than before. The two pairs of eyes were currently riveted upon the dark sky, both containing a worried expression.

"It's going to be bad, really bad," murmured the boy, glancing at his sister suddenly. "It doesn't seem like any ordinary storm… Especially after this string of excessive warmth. It's December, for pity's sake. Snow I would expect, but not this…"

The girl looked back at her brother nodded. "I don't like this… And tomorrow's our birthday, too! Why do these things always happen when we're looking forward to something fun?" she moaned. "Leon, why can't we have a normal year? Why can't we /be/ normal?"

The twins let out a sigh at the exact same time. "I wish I knew, Lireal. I wish I knew," replied Leon. "Let's go inside before Mrs. Calloway comes out here and drags us by the ears."

The boy turned and headed back inside. Lireal, however, remained where she was for a short time, staring into the clouds as if she saw something there. Shivering, she blinked, then turned and followed her brother back into the house. He was waiting for her right at the door and together they walked down the hall to their room. Mrs. Calloway was in the kitchen, through which they had to pass should they wish to go to their room, and she scolded them before allowing them to continue. As the twins passed the radio at the far end of the kitchen, it suddenly crackled and screeched with white noise. However, the two quickly hurried on and the radio returned to normal.

Mildly disturbed, the two quickly entered their small room consisting of a bunk bed, a desk, a bedside table and a chest of drawers. Lireal shut the door and Leon went to the window, shutting the blinds before climbing up to his bunk. Their cat, who adored sleeping upon the top bunk, suddenly let out a loud meow and bolted for the door, scratching at it and hissing at Lireal as she moved to let her out.

"What's the matter with the cat?" she asked her brother, the quaver in her voice betraying her worry and confusion. "Did you sit on her tail?"

"No! I never touched her! She just hissed at me, meowed and leapt down."

"What's going on? First the strange weather, then the radio and now the cat!"

Leon just shook his head. "I don't know, but… I feel tired all of a sudden. I'm going to sleep. Maybe we'll figure it out in the morning."

Lireal wasn't so sure, but she clicked off the light, kicked off her shoes and clambered into her own bed. After a while, she could hear her brother's soft snoring, but she could not fall asleep for a long time. A sudden crack of loud thunder and the brilliant flash of lightening through the curtains startled her, but as soon as the roll of noise ceased and she could hear the heavy pattering of water upon their roof, she slipped into unconsciousness.

Abruptly, sometime later, she shot awake, cold sweat beading upon her forehead and her heart pounding. She did not know why, but fear filled her, every sinew, and every bone. Lireal sat, suddenly cold and shaking uncontrollably, curling into a ball of miserable horror. Then it was gone and she relaxed, though she continued to shiver. Gazing wide-eyed around, she could find no logical reason for the fear, unless it was something from her dreaming, but she had not dreamt. Slowly, she lay back upon her pillow, smoothing the blankets and willing herself to go back to sleep. But sleep wouldn't come. Instead, a dreadful feeling welled up inside her, growing with each moment. It was as if some enormous weight pushed at her mind, threatening to take her over and change her into something else. That was, of course, quite ridiculous, but that was how it felt.

She was just starting to be able to ignore the awful feeling when the fear rose up again, triggered by an unusually loud wail. It was, of course, only the wind accompanied by the driving rain and the occasional crack of thunder. Still, it had sounded almost like a scream. A human scream. Barely stopping herself from moaning or screaming, Lireal snuggled deeper into her blankets, shuddering. And then, like before, it was gone, though the feeling remained.

Sometime later – it could have been a few minutes or a few hours; Lireal wasn't sure – the fear leapt up a third time, drowning Lireal in a sea of horror. It was worse than before. Much worse. It was like a large, deep, dark hole that swallowed her up and let her fall down and down into the dark, damp pit that was utter fear. The feeling threw itself at her with such horrifying force that it left her quaking in a limp cowering state of dumbness. She wasn't sure if she cried out or screamed or made a sound at all, but she did hear her brother shift in his bed and poke his head down.

"Lireal?" he said in a sleepy voice rife with concern, betraying not a hint of the same horror he had felt in his dreams. "Somethin' wrong?"

It was such a relief to hear his voice, to see his face in the inconsistent light of lightening, Lireal almost cried. Instead, she smiled weakly. "N.. no… Yes… I don't know. I think I'm going mad."

Her brother returned her ghost of a smile. "You wouldn't be the only one. Something's not right… not right at all. And it's not the storm."

Lireal nodded, but said nothing. Leon said nothing else, either. They were in understanding and didn't need to speak. Many who have known twins might swear they are telepathic, but really it is just the two know each other so terribly well, they don't need to talk. Such was the way with Lireal and Leon. With a final look to each other, the two settled back to a restless slumber. Strangely, this time it came quickly for Lireal.

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Authoress' Notes! 

So, this is the revised and added onto chapter 1. Hurrah! Hope you like it.

_My old comments to the reviewers:_

silvergenji & Demoness : To tell you the truth, I really have no idea /who/ the father is. I haven't decided yet... But I am pretty sure it isn't Merriman... Or the Rider... Or anyone obvious like that... But then again, I could do something interesting like that... hmm...

Chyneua : Thank you!

Eldrice: Thank you for the criticism. I appreciate it, really I do! I really don't know why I have the old man in there... (he is the Old One who gave Will's brother the mask) Maybe to explain stuff about the twins? Mm... I am still trying to figure out stuff like that... I wrote this in a fit of creativity after re-reading the first book and reading a bunch of people's fan-fiction...

_My new comments to the same reviewers:_

Silvergenji: So I actually know who the mother and father are now. -triumphant grin- After careful consideration and a random thought.. that was, I must say, on the.. er.. unclean side, I had a perfect picture of a scene taking place right after Lireal & Leon are.. em.. conceived. See my note in the rewritten prologue. If you like, I can email the scene to you or post it at the end of one of my chapters. If you don't mind a PG-13 to R rating for it.. and if you don't mind the slight spoilers. Like who the parents are. Actually, in the rewritten prologue, I kind of let slip who the mom is.

Demoness: See my note to Silvergenji 'bout the parents. Buaha! Yay for revisions and a random disturbed mind!

Chyneua: Again, thanks!

Eldrice: What I did before is what is called _dux en machina_. I think. Anyway… I must say, I've improved the bit you criticized. Later, when looking at my scraps of a 3rd chapter with Will, I was thinking he needs some way of knowing about Leon & Lireal. Thus, the old man is replaced with.. (dramatic chord) Will! Don't ask why Will would be there. He just is. I didn't think that far.


	3. Rooks and Falcons

Chapter 2: Rooks and Falcons

Leon was the first to awaken, around dawn, as he had been the first to drift off into slumber. The boy lay there for several moments, reflecting upon the things he had dreamt. His dreams, or dream, rather, had been one he had had so often, about when he and Lireal had been given into the care of the orphanage, or so they presumed, where they spent the first half of their life. Seven years to the day, since this was their fourteenth birthday and the New Year, besides. The two had ceased to stay up until midnight four years ago, deciding that it was better to get up early the next day and enjoy the day as opposed to the night. Lireal never really cared for the night and Leon felt that the night seemed to call him, especially at midnight. Such a sensation frightened him, though he made light of it by saying it was the witching hour. Recently, however, the feeling had been growing stronger, even entering into dreams. Last night's dream had been a welcome relief from the shadow-filled nightmares of late.

The dream had begun with a fuzzy recollection of thundering hooves and of being held in the strong grasp of a rider upon his jet-black horse. Leon and Lireal had discussed the color of the horse many times and, though neither could discern how they knew the color, they both agreed that it was black. After a time, the hoofbeats came to a halt and Leon felt himself being handed to someone on foot. Then, he was returned to the one who had been riding the horse. The man said something, which neither could recall, in a deep, sinister voice and that was where Leon's recollection faltered. Lireal could always remember hearing the reply of a woman, but there her memory failed as well.

Thinking of these things brought Leon's mind to his years at the orphanage. Lireal and himself had never much in the way of friends and adults tended to avoid them, most likely because of their odd appearances. Eventually, however, a woman in her early thirties came to visit. Her husband had died just six months before, three weeks after she had miscarried their child. Feeling lonely and wanting so much to have a child, even if her dear husband was no longer around, she had decided to adopt. Leon smiled to himself at the image of the plump Mrs. Calloway, with her rosy cheeks and amicable nature. By some miracle, she had taken a liking to the twins, despite their queer nature, and adopted them. Since that time, Leon and Lireal had been dwelling with Mrs. Calloway, a happy, if small, family.

Leon sighed as his thoughts turned to more recent times, to the previous night. What had been going on? Try as he might, the boy still couldn't figure it out. Sighing once more, he got out of bed, the springs of the mattress and the slats of the ladder squeaking ever so slightly. This noise was enough to disturb Lireal from her light slumber and her eyelids flickered open. She turned over to look at Leon as he opened his chest and pulled out a shirt and a pair of worn jeans.

"Good morning," she murmured, sitting up carefully so as not to bump her head on the upper bunk. "You're up early."

"I know," replied Leon. "I'm going for a walk, since Mrs. Calloway isn't likely to be up yet. Something still isn't right and I need time to think about it. Are you going to come or sleep more?"

"I'll come. I want to know what's going on, too," said Lireal, rolling out of bed and stumbling to her own chest of clothing. She too, pulled out a t-shirt and jeans. "Did you have that dream again? I did..."

"Mmhmm..." Leon picked out a pair of socks and some underwear, then retreated to the bathroom to change. Lireal changed in the bedroom and was just placing her pajamas in the laundry basket when Leon returned. He placed his own pajamas in the laundry basket and they both opened their door and left the room. Lireal was first to reach the kitchen. Everything was much as it had been the night before, save for that the radio was off and all the dishes were clean and put away. The girl looked through the window above the sink, seeing a dark gray skin, tinged with the pink of dawn. The ground was dark with moisture, puddles littering the earth. The grass was bowed with water droplets and the branches of leafless tress dripped constantly. Other branches and sticks lay scattered across the yard.

"It's so gloomy outside," murmured Lireal with a sigh.

"Indeed," agreed Leon. "But let's go."

The two went to the back door, put their boots on and each pulled on a windbreaker. Then, Leon opened the door and they both went outside. For a time, they walked along in silence, around the house and along the road towards town. They lived about two miles north of Hunter's Combe, but the twins rarely went there. Once Mrs. Calloway had adopted them, she had home schooled them, so they didn't go down for school and if they needed groceries or anything, Mrs. Calloway would go and get them herself. Her reasoning was that, though she loved the two dearly, other people would likely shun them. Having gotten used such comments from the nun who had run the orphanage, they didn't mind too much. Today, however, they figured few people would be about this early after new year's and, if they were, it wouldn't matter.

About half a mile from town, Leon said, "It seems almost too quiet."

A moment later, Lireal replied, "You're right... I wonder if it's just because of the violent storm last night?"

"I don't know."

"Look at that tree," exclaimed the girl, suddenly. "It's positively coated with rooks! I've never seen so many in one place before."

Even as she said this, Leon pointed to a tree directly across the street from the first. Upon it were perched a great many falcons. "And look at all the falcons, too," he gasped. "What the heck?"

Unnerved, the two hesitantly continued along the road, keeping to the exact middle so as to be as far from each tree as possible. As the twins passed between them, however, a cacophony of caws and screeches erupted. All the birds took off at once into the sky, the rooks rising as a vast cloud of black while the white undersides of the falcons caught the rising sun and gleamed. Leon and Lireal pressed tightly together in fear, back to back staring at the flock. Suddenly, a few of the rooks dived at the falcons and a few of the birds of prey did likewise. Feathers went flying in clumps as an aerial brawl broke out.

"Let's get out of here," moaned Lireal, pulling her brother behind her as she took off running towards town.

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Author's notes:

Thanks to my reviewers! Here are my replies to your reviews

Demoness of the Shadows: Thankies for reveiwing again! I'm sorry this took so long to get out... Umm... Will will feature prominently in the next chapter (which I have yet to finish)

Sorrowful Wind-Whisperer: I kind of did base the night before on that particular section of the Dark is Rising. Thanks for the compliment! Um.. Yes... there will be romance... But I am not going to spoil it by telling you with whom! All I can guarrentee is that it won't be slash...

Dai-aron Kenobi: I do hope this chapter satisfies your curiosity about where and how they lived, at least to a certain extent. Their relationship with Mrs. Calloway will be further explained in the next chapter or two, I think.. Mwahaha.. more strange things in this chapter!

Umm... I am terribly sorry for the delay, but I have been busy and I just didn't have any inspiration for a while.

Preview of next chapter:

Chapter 3: Will Stanton

Actually, I'm not going to post any text from the chapter, just tell you that much is revealed in this chapter and that it is likely to be one of the longest chapters of this story.


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